Valve mechanism for explosive-engines.



Patented Oct. 28, |902.

G; J. A'LTHAM.` VALVE MECHANISM FOR EXPLOSIVE ENGINES.

(Application led Jan. 8, A1900.)

7 sham-snm l..

(No Model.)

No. 7l2,|7|. Patented ont. 2a, |902.

G. J. ALTHAM. vALvE 'MEcHAmsM 'Fon ExPLuslvE ENa|Nes.\ (Application mea Jan. a, 19pm (No Modal.) f 7 sheen-'Sheet' 2.

' Patented oct. 2s. |902. a. J. ALTHAM. VALVE MECHANISM FDR EXPLSIVE ENGINES.

(Application filed Jan. 3. 1900.)

Af7 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Y .r G

Irl/.r h.

g1/45am (511,650.6. Oltbom, 505%/ il. 4

Patented out. 2a, |902.

G. J. ALTHAM.. l 4vA'LvEA MEcHAmsM Fon ExPLoslvE- ENGINES.

(Application med Jan. '3, 1900.)

7 Sheets- Sheet 4.

(No Mndei.)

attloznm ms n'onms warms cov. Waremme. msumnr. v. c.

Patented ont. 2a, 1902. G. J. ALTHAM.

VALVE MECHANISM FOR EXPLUSIVE ENGINES.

(Application filed Jan. 3, 1900.)

7 sheets-Sheet s.

(No Model.)V

No. 7|2,!7|.v w Patented Oct. 28, |902. G. J. ALT-HAM. l

VALVE MEGHANISM FUR EXPLUSIVE ENGINES.

(Apliucmon'med Jap. a, 1900.) (No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 NTTED STATES PATENT FFICE.

VALVE MECHANISIVI FOR EXPLOSlVE-ENGINES.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent N o. 712,171, dated October 28, 1902. Application filed January 3, 12900. Serial No. 2,71. (Nomodel.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Beit known that I, GEORGE J. ALTHAM, of Fall River, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve Mechanism for Explosive-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to engines employing oil, gas, or other hydrocarbon fluid as the source of energy.

The chief object of my invention is to provide improved valve-operating mechanism, such mechanism also comprising or being adapted to coperate With means for regulating the speed of the engine by controlling the admission of the explosive charges to the working cylinder or cylinders. Y

According to my invention I employ one valve, preferably a piston-valve, which serves both for the admission of the explosive charges to the Working cylinder and also for the admission of the compressed air which is blown through the engine aftereach-workin g stroke. I cause this Valve to be operated only when an impulse-stroke is required. At all other times it remains practically stationary, thereby avoiding vibration and Wear of the working parts. I employ a single shaft to operate the aforesaid valve and the exhaust-valve.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into eifect, I will describe the same fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure lis a front elevation of one example of valve-operating mechanism constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 isa vertical section of the mechanism, taken through the valve-operating shaft and showing the parts in a diiferent position from that illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation on the line A B of Fig. 1; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are views similar to Fig. 3, showing the parts in different positions.v Fig. 7 is a side.

elevation of my improved valve-operating mechanism applied to a two-cylinder engine, and Fig. 8 is a sectional endview taken on the line C D of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of the aforesaid piston-valve, its casing, and the end of the working cylinder. Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively an elevation and a transverse section of the valve-Casin g or cylinder detached. Fig. 12 is a detail perspective view hereinafter referred to. Fig. 13 is an elevation, partly in section, representing a form of engine with my improvement applied thereto.

Referring rst to Figs. 1 to 6, ais the valveoperating shaft, which is hollow and is supported in bearings b. It is adapted to be driven by any suitable rotating part of the engine through the pinion c. A centrifugal governor is arranged at one end of this shaft, which latter is slotted at dfor the purpose of permitting the ends of the arms eof the bellcrank levers carrying the governor-Weights toengage with a recess f in a spring-controlled spindle g, arranged Within the shaft. Nearits opposite end this spindleis secured, by means of a pin or key h, passing through a second slot i in the shaft a, to a sleeve j, capable of slidinglongitudinallyonthesaidshaft. (SeeFig. 2.)A Upon this sleeve is a cam la, adapted to engage with the arm m of a spring-controlled catchlever,whose pivot or spindle is mounted in bearings Z. So long as the speed of the engine is sufficiently high to cause the governor to hold the spindle g against the tension of its spring this cam k is not brought into contact with the arm m, as will be clearly seen on reference to Fig. 2; but when the speed slackens the sleeve is permitted to move along the shaft to aposition Where the cam thereon will operate the arm m so as to trip the lever, this latter position being shown in Fig. 1.

`The catch-lever has three arms, one of which,

m, is arranged-to come against the cam 7a and another, n, is pressed by the rspring o, by which the leveris controlled. The extremity of the third arm 1o is adapted to extend under the outer end of a spring-controlled lever q, (see Figs. 3, 4, and 12,) to which is connected the rod r of the aforesaid admission-valve s.

The arm p catches and holds the said lever q y IOO termed the valve-cam) is of such a shape and is so disposed angularly with relation to the trip-cam 7c on the sleeve ,7' that the lever q is held thereby in its normal position at the moment thatitis released by the arm p. The position of the parts at such time is shown in Fig. 4. The rotation of the valve-cam then immediately permits the lever q to move under the action of its spring t so as to bring the valve s into its opposite or charging position, as will be seen in Fig. 5, and afterward'pushes said lever q back to a middle position, in which the valve s closes communication between the cylinder it and both the channel o and the channel w while the compression and impulse strokes of the working piston take place. The position of the parts toward the end of the compression stroke is shown in Fig. 6. At the end of the impulse-stroke the valve-rod lever is'returned by the cam to its normal position or that position wherein the compressed air is admitted to the cylinder. The arm p of the catchlever will then rengage the extremity of the valve-lever and hold it in such position until a fresh charging stroke is required, the camshaft rotating, pending such requirement, without operating the catch or valve levers, as will be understood from Fig. 3. During the movement of the valve-lever its extremity bears upon an arc-shaped surface y of the arm p, the said arc having a radius equal to the length of the lever q, thereby preventing the arm p moving into the path of the said lever until the latter has returned to its normal position. When a pump is employed to force the combustible fluid into the chargechamber, I prefer to work the plunger of such pump by a rod e', connected to the extension or lug Z on this arm p of the catchlever. (See Figs. 2, 3, and l2.) In order to insure that the cam 7c shall engage the arm m of the catch-lever for a timesufcient to trip the same and effect the release of the lever q, I provide on the sleeve j a knife-edged or bevel cam or ridge 2, one side of such cam being approximately perpendicular and the other inclined. This cam 2 is adapted to be engaged by a similarly-shaped roller 3, carried by the wall of the casing 4 that incloses the mechanism. The roller 3 does not touch the sleeve j, and normally it does not touch the cam 2; but when said sleeve is permitted by the governor to move so as to bring the cam 7c near to or in contact with the arm m the inclined surfaces of the said roller and knife-cam will engage and will thereby draw back the sleeve j to or will retain it in such a position that the cam will make a good contact with the arm m, and the cam 2 will not be released bythe roller 3 until the catchlever has released the valve-lever q. I prefer to mount the said roller on an arm 5, held in position in a resilient manner by the spring 6 or a similar device, so as to permit the said arm to move away from the sleeve, if necessary.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8, which illustrate one form of my invention applied to a two-cylinder engine, each cylinder being controlled by a separate valve, it will be seen that the two valve-rods fr o" are disposed opposite to each other and connected to valvelevers q q', arranged on either side of the valve-operating shaft a. A single cam w operates the two valve-levers. Two catch-levers are employed, mounted in bearings Z Z, and two trip-cams it 7o are also employed, one for each catch-lever. Each trip-cam is mounted on a separate sleevejj, one sleeve being arranged on each side of the valve-cam w and both sleeves being actuated by the spindle g in the manner hereinbefore described. The construction of the catch-levers is somewhat different to that illustrated in Figs. l to 6. Each catch-lever comprises two arms, one of which, m, (or m,) carries the roller through which it is adapted to be actuated by the trip-cam, the said arm being prolonged in a curve approximately concentric to the camshaft and having pivoted to its extremity the rod ,a (or z) of the pump for forcing the combustible iiuid into the charge-chamber. In orvder that the deflection of the pump-rod in its its connection to the pump-rod is approxi` mately at right angles to the pump-rod itself. The pump operated by the rod ,a supplies the charging member of the working cylinder whose valve is controlled by the rod r, and the pump operated by the rod e" supplies the charging chamber of the working cylinder which is controlled by the rod 'r'. The other arm p (or p of the catch-lever is set olf from the arm m, or m,) is curved to escape the pivot or fulcrum of the other catch-lever, and is then further set off, so that the end of this arm having the arc-shaped surface y (or y') may be in the plane of the valve-lever q (or q.) A compression-spring o, (or 0,) bearing against the arm fm, (or m,) tends to maintain the catch-lever in its catch position.

Referring now to Figs. 9 to 1l, the pistonvalve s that I prefer to employ for admitting the explosive mixture and the compressed air to the working cylinder u consists of a cylindrical piston or plug working in a fixed casing or cylinder 7, communicating at one end with the channel w, and hence with the chamber containing the charges of combustible iiuid, and at the other end with the channel o, and hence with the compressedair reservoir. At or near the middle of this cylinder 7 are a number of radial perforations 8, opening into an annular chamber 9, communicating with the working cylinderu. When the piston covers these perforations, the working cylinder is closed to both the aforesaid chamber and the compressed-air reservoir. When the piston is moved toward the channel w, compressed air is admitted to the working cylinder, and when it is moved IOO IIO

toward the channel o the explosive mixture is admitted to the working cylinder. I employ an exhaust-valve of any ordinary construction, operated from the aforesaid valveoperating shaft at by a cam or eccentric situated inthe casing, (marked l5.) As shown in the drawings, I employ antifriction-rollers on the parts of'the levers that come in contact with the cams.

I claiml. A valve mechanism for engines of the character specified, comprising an admission-valve, a constantly-moving actuator, as a cam, means for transmitting motion from said actuator to the valve, a centrifugal governor, a catch controlled by the governor and adapted to` be moved thereby to a position to hold said motion-transmitting means out of position to be operated by said actuator, and a trip-cam controlled by the governor for releasing the said motion-transmitting means,whereby the valve is adapted to be held stationary in an inoperative position until a decrease in the speed of the engine necessitates a fresh impulse-stroke and to be then released.

2. A valve mechanism for engines of the character specified, comprisingavalve, a centrifugal governor,a catch adapted to normally hold saidvalve stationary in an inoperative position, a trip-cam controlled by the governor and adapted to operate said catch and release the valve when a decrease in the speed of the engine necessitates a fresh impulse stroke, and means for insuring the proper coperation of said trip cam and catch, said means including members having inclined faces, ohne member being relatively ixed and the other relatively movable and connected with the trip-cam.

3. A valve mechanism for engines of the character specified, comprising a valve, a centrifugal governor, means for operating and controlling the action of the valve, said means comprising a shaft, a sleeve on said shaft connected with the governor and having a cam fortripping the valve-controlling means, and means insuring a proper positioning of said trip-cam, said means comprising a cam mounted on the sleeve and having an inclined face,.and a fixed roller having an inclined face adapted to engage said face on the cam and thereby move the sleeve longitudinally on the shaft.

4. A valve mechanism for engines of the character specified, comprising the working cylinder, a cylindrical casing having a port intermediate its ends communicating with the interior of said cylinder, said cylindrical casing communicating at its ends, respectively, with a chamber for containing the working charges for said cylinder, and a reservoir for compressed air or other fluid for blowing through the engine, a piston or plug working in said casing and adapted to close said port or to lie on one or the other side thereof, and means for actuating said piston vor plug,whereby a single valve performs the functions of an admission-valve and a blowthrough valve.

In testimony whereof I have afxed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE J. ALTHAM. Witnesses:

J. COLLINS, WALTER J. SKERTEN. 

